In a message dated 5/1/00 8:14:10 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Has enough time elapsed since the swarms that they should have been
>  laying and at least seen lots of eggs, and maybe some small larvae.
>  Should I give them a few more days to become established (then requeen
>  in the fall) - or find the queens in both hives kill them and requeen
>  now?

   Rod,

   One of the reasons I hate to lose swarms is that you have next to nothing
afterwards. You have no brood, a bunch of snotty bees, and may or may not
have a queen, who is very difficult to find, and who always seems to take
longer than it should to become evident.  If you give me a choice between the
swarm and the hive they left, I'll take the swarm anyday.

     Requeening right now is not an option, in my experience. Old bees just
don't accept queens well. The only requeening method with any real kind of
hope of acceptance is to drop a nuc into the hive.

     I do not linger over these hives that have lost swarms. Depending on
their strength and how long since the swarm was cast, I give them a frame of
open brood with eggs, and perhaps another frame with sealed brood. Then I
mark them for a later check.  Anything else is just a waste of time.

   Don't worry about the one that has started laying spotty brood, as this is
common with young queens anyway. By giving them brood, you will either help
the young queen get established, or give the bees an option to replace her if
she's poorly mated.

Dave Green
http://pollinator.com